Six members of the 17man Test squad will return home at the end of the third Test which starts tomorrow in Newlands, Cape Town they added.
Tilan Samarawera, Tharanga Paranavithana, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Chanaka Welagedara and Kanishka Elvitigala will return back to Sri Lanka before the ODI series.
There are no major surprises in the ODI team as the National selectors have kept their faith in all rounder Kosala Kulasekara who did not do much to justify his place in the te
am for the recent series against Pakistan in UAE.
Nuwan Kulasekara who had been overlooked for the Test series due to injury concerns has finally been picked and will fly out with his star pace partner Lasith Malinga, who immediately puts the strength of the Sri Lankan pace attack a few notches up for the ODIS.
There was a minor controversy before the second Test when skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan told media in South Africa that Nuwan Kulasekara would be flown in as a replacement for injured Sri Lankan bowlers ahead of the second Test but the National selectors named rookie paceman Kanishka Elvitigala instead of Kulasekara to fly out with Dhammika Prasad as a replacement.emerging star Jeevan Mendis lost out of a place as he was not considered for selection due to injury.
Meanwhile, team sources disclosed that former skipper Mahela Jayawardene, currently struggling with the bat has shown interest in opening the innings in the ODIS and might be promoted up the order.skipper Dilshan who is the regular opener with Upul Tharanga in ODIS is also going through a lean patch and might opt to move down the order.
However 34-year old Jayawardene’s miserable Test form this year has given even more worries to the national selectors as the stylish right hander, considered easily as one of the finest strokemakers in world cricket today has scored just one century and two half centuries in 2011 in 21 innings he played in 11 Test matches.a National selector said contrary to Jayawardene’s rumored captaincy aspirations; he is actually struggling to sustain his place in the Test team.
It will be a tight call when regular Test wicket keeper Prasanna Jayawardene recovers fully from the operation he has undergone, as Prasanna scored a fantastic fighting century in the last Test innings he played which would make him an automatic choice in the team.
In the meanwhile, Dinesh Chandimal who made his debut as a wicketkeeper in the second Test against South Africa last week scored twin half centuries and showed much promise, putting Mahela Jaywardene’s Test place in the balance.
The Sri Lanka ODI Squad for South Series
Tillakaratne Dilshan (Captain), Angelo Mathews (Vice Captain), Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Kosala Kulasekara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Dhammika Prasad, Dilhara Fernando, Rangana Herath, Ajantha Mendis
However 34-year old Jayawardene’s miserable Test form this year has given even more worries to the national selectors as the stylish right hander, considered easily as one of the finest strokemakers in world cricket today has scored just one century and two half centuries in 2011 in 21 innings he played in 11 Test matches.a National selector said contrary to Jayawardene’s rumored captaincy aspirations; he is actually struggling to sustain his place in the Test team.
It will be a tight call when regular Test wicket keeper Prasanna Jayawardene recovers fully from the operation he has undergone, as Prasanna scored a fantastic fighting century in the last Test innings he played which would make him an automatic choice in the team.
In the meanwhile, Dinesh Chandimal who made his debut as a wicketkeeper in the second Test against South Africa last week scored twin half centuries and showed much promise, putting Mahela Jaywardene’s Test place in the balance.
The Sri Lanka ODI Squad for South Series
0 comments:
Post a Comment